Porter Airlines wants to expand its service to Vancouver, U.S.

Jeff Lee and Scott Deveau, Vancouver Sun, Postmedia News04.10.2013

Bob Deluce, President and CEO of Porter Airlines stands in front of an example of a Bombardier CS100 Aircraft as he announces the Airlines purchase of 12 of the planes, with an option for a further 18, at a news conference in Toronto on Wednesday April 10, 2013. Porter Airlines announced plans Wednesday to seek permission to fly Bombardier-built CS100 jets out of Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport on the city’s waterfront to destinations across North America. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Chris Young

Vancouver International Airport, says it has the capacity to fit Porter Airlines into its domestic services when the Toronto-based airline begins regularly scheduled service some time in 2016.

On Wednesday Porter unveiled plans to take on Air Canada and WestJet as a national air carrier with a conditional deal to purchase 12 new Bombardier CS100 long-range jets and options to buy 18 more. It will also push the federal government, the City of Toronto and the Toronto Port Authority to alter their long-standing agreement to allow for the new jets to take off and land at Billy Bishop Toronto City airport. It also wants the parties to allow for 168-metre extensions on each end of the airport’s main runway to accommodate takeoff and landing requirements.

The airline said the $2.29-billion aircraft order is, however, conditional on winning approval from all three parties. If it fails to do so, Porter said it will abandon its plans to buy the planes.

Porter said it expects to begin service to Vancouver, Los Angeles and Florida with the new CS100s, which are more powerful and have a longer range than its existing turboprop fleet.

Tony Gugliotta, a senior vice-president at Vancouver International Airport, said YVR has had informal discussions with Porter in the past about adding service to Vancouver. But the company’s announcement now puts planning on a formal footing.

“We have had informal discussions with Porter in the past but this is the first we are aware of the specific expansion plans with the new Series C aircraft from Bombardier,” Gugliotta said.

The timing of the expansion works well with YVR’s own expansion. Gugliotta said YVR is in the middle of a $200 million upgrade of its domestic terminal’s airside operations, which includes new gates, baggage-handling services and security screening areas at its A and B terminals.

“There is no issue with regards to capacity or being able to accommodate them. It is just about formalizing the relationship with them,” he said.

If the plan is approved, the move would mark a significant shift in strategy for Porter, which until now relied on its fleet of Bombardier Q400 turboprops for short-haul flights typically shorter than two hours in duration.

The smaller version of the CSeries that Porter plans to purchase, the CS100, has a much farther reach and could open up destinations such as Vancouver, Edmonton, Calgary, Winnipeg, Los Angeles, Florida and the Caribbean when it’s delivered in 2016.

Porter chief executive Robert Deluce said the timing was right to make a push for a larger plane at Billy Bishop because Porter’s passengers were demanding it.

“It’s now time to spread our wings and look at some destinations that are little further out,” Deluce said in an interview.

“We’ve accomplished most of what we set out to do when we originally announced our program back some seven years ago, and are now responding to our passengers in terms of more destinations — a little farther afield.”

The CSeries requires a runway of at least 4,400 feet and Toronto’s Billy Bishop main runway is just shy of 4,000 feet. Porter’s proposal would see the runway extended by more than 1,100 feet to accommodate the plane.

Porter’s plans have also caught the attention its rivals, like Air Canada, who have long fought for a bigger presence at Billy Bishop for themselves.

“Prior to taking a position on any further investment in Toronto Billy Bishop City Centre Airport, Air Canada wants some assurance that this public asset will be opened up to greater competition, and that slots will become available for carriers such as Air Canada who have been actively seeking increased access for some time,” said Peter Fitzpatrick, Air Canada spokesman, in an email.

Carty said he expected there would be plenty of time to debate the matter, noting the first 12 CSeries are expected to be delivered in 2016 and 2017.

He also said the terminal at Billy Bishop would need to be expanded to accommodate the new aircraft, and there would also have to be an increase in the number of landing slots now allowed in and out of the Island airport in a given day.

He noted that Bombardier is marketing the CS100 as the quietest jet aircraft on the market and said it was “comparably quiet” to the existing Q400s Porter operates.

Deluce said the preliminary financing for the aircraft had already been secured and that the company is not now considering an initial public offering of its shares and that the privately held company had been profitable for the past two years.

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Porter Airlines wants to expand its service to Vancouver, U.S.

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